Today’s leg of our journey took us from Monticello, Minnesota to Menoken, North Dakota, just east of Bismarck, only 381 miles. We stopped once to take on fuel before leaving Minnesota, as the fuel prices in North Dakota and Montana are higher. Then we stopped again for lunch. It seems Ken and Martha are more willing to just drive straight through to our destinations here in the U.S. but we need to stop more frequently. Around 2:30PM we needed a rest stop and they kept going on through to our stop in Menoken. After a 10 minutes stop we started off again. 
About 30 miles from Menoken, we saw a sign for the Largest Sand Hill Crane in the World. Curiosity overcame us and we stopped to see it. It turned out to be a sculpture marking an area known for its birding called the Prairie Pothole Region of North Dakota.
While we were there, a young couple pulled up in a pick-up truck to see the sculpture. Ellyn took their picture for them and they told us they were from Fargo, ND, and were making a trip to “South Dakota or Yellowstone or wherever”. The gentleman had just returned from a deployment and they decided to just take off on a trip. We told them to make sure they stop and see everything they can. You never can tell who you’ll run into.
The campground is right off I-94 and small and quite crowded, but they had room for us for the night. We got in early enough to be able to have a little relaxation before sunset. Near sunset, we remembered about the eclipse. Geoff made a pin-hole camera and we were able to see that the eclipse was still in progress. Geoff then set up the camera on the tripod and, using a polarized filter and a pair of sunglasses, was able to get a picture, although a bit over exposed.
We also saw a prairie dog near a tree when we pulled into the campground and Geoff went back with the camera to get some pictures.
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